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In response to the impending tangled web that is to become Pittsburgh's transit system, the Port Authority has set up a hotline for the public to comment on proposed fare hikes and service snafus ... (412) 566-5335 ... It asks that irked and disgruntled customers NOT call Port Authority Customer Service (412) 442-2000. Comments will also be accepted on their Web site www.portauthority.org.

In an effort to ease the pain of PAT office employees (hey it's not their fault) having to listen to endless crank calls, Dish asks that you alleviate your frustration by leaving your gripes on Dish. We'll get you started:

It was less than two years ago that Mayoral hopeful Bob O'Connor, unveiling his first major economic proposal, suggested building a new streetcar line connecting downtown and Oakland.

Today it's a different world-view. The cuts proposed by PAT threaten to confuse if not strand riders who have few options to get to their destination, must add considerable time to their trips or face parking in places with limited parking and less than affordable parking rates.

Once the spine of American cities, our web of streetcar systems has been replaced over the past fifty years with a system of buses. These buses can easily be rerouted or cut entirely. They don't require any capital investment other than the bus itself. Streetcar systems on the other hand require significant capital investment, but once in place they provide cost-savings, but more importantly transit that can not only be relied on by riders, but by developers, businesses and homeowners who can with much reassurance know that the transit line is likely to be there and running indefinitely into the future.New Pittsburgh blog? Great Pittsburgh blog? Read a non-Burgh blog that features Pittsburgh -- good or bad? Send a link to mlevine@steelcitymedia.com.